1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a surgical staple, and more particularly, to a surgical staple configured to accommodate varying tissue compression.
2. Background of Related Art
Surgical staples are highly specialized staples that can be employed during a variety of medical procedures (e.g., surgery). Closing skin wounds, anastomosing bowels, and excising portions of a lung are just a few of the many different types of medical procedures where surgical staples can be employed.
Clinicians have turned to surgical staplers and the surgical staples associated therewith as popular alternatives to traditional suturing methods in the medical environment. Incorporating a surgical stapler into a procedure allows a clinician to quickly and easily close tissue.
Current stapling technology can employ multiple surgical staples having first and second legs, and a backspan. As is the case with most conventional surgical staples, when the surgical staple is deployed, the surgical staple penetrates tissue, creating a hole(s) and an accompanying staple line. Located along the staple line and between the legs of the surgical staple is captured tissue. The captured and now transected tissue becomes hemostatic, which results in minimal leakage of bodily fluids around the transected tissue area. However, due to stapling through variable thicknesses causing over-compression in some areas or pressure changes in the body and/or other normal body processes (e.g., healing), tissue that is not captured between the legs of the surgical staples may stretch and pull away from the legs of the surgical staples which may cause stress on the hole created by the surgical staples and/or form a path in which bodily fluids may leak, both of which, in turn, can impede the healing process.
Therefore, a surgical staple that allows for relative motion of the staple backspan after the surgical staple has been deployed into tissue may be helpful in accommodating the change in tissue, especially in the direction allowing relaxation of strain.